Anti-drone protesters arrested at air base

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Three Bay Area residents were among nine peace activists cited for trespassing at Beale Air Force Base on Tuesday as they joined a group of 100 people protesting the use of armed drones overseas by the United States military.

The protesters blocked the main gate for four hours before base security officers removed them and issued federal citations. The nine will be assigned federal court dates in the coming weeks. If convicted they could face up to six months in prison.

One of those cited was David Hartsough, executive director of the San Francisco-based Peaceworkers anti-war group.
“Drones are totally immoral…We are one human family,” Hartsough said. “All people in the world are our brothers and sisters. If someone attacked our blood brother or sister, we would do everything in our power to stop them.”

Also among the protesters was Toby Blome of El Cerrito, a member of the anti-war group Code Pink, and the Rev. Louis Vitale of Oakland, a Korean War Air Force veteran and longtime peace protester. Blome was in Pakistan in October helping lead a protest with other Americans against the use of drones there.

Armed drones have been used to kill terrorists or other military enemies in hot spots around the world, particularly Pakistan and Afghanistan, and civilians have at times also been victims in the attacks.

Tuesday’s protesters said the civilian casualty totals run in the thousands; the U.S. military has repeatedly said civilian casualties are minimal and unintentional.
Beale Air Force Base, 50 miles north of Sacramento, is home to the Global Hawk, an unmanned surveillance drone that protesters said is key to the success of armed drone attacks.